Jarvis Cocker

By the time that Beck Hansen finished his lush, melancholy new record, "Morning Phase," he had become so consumed by the process that he says he'd caused brain damage.

"I've heard each song about six or seven thousand times, to the point where it's burned a hole, neurologically, in my auditory system," the 43-year-old songwriter, whose work over the last two decades has helped define modern Los Angeles with his expansive, all-consuming eardrums, said over dinner recently in Los Feliz.

Recorded in Nashville, Paris, London and Los Angeles over seven intense months, "Morning Phase" is the artist's 12th album and first studio album since he hit 40,...

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By the time that Beck Hansen finished his lush, melancholy new record, "Morning Phase," he had become so consumed by the process that he says he'd caused brain damage.
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